I'll Be Waiting
by onetreefan
Summary: Elliot thoughts about his partner whose hurting... EO


**Hey, its been a while. My deepest apologies! Happy 2008 to everyone. I want you to know I haven't given up on **_**Threads, Unrequited Love, Hunger For Blood **_**or **_**In the Air Tonight. **_**On the contrary, I have been creating ideas for all of the stories above. I just have barely any time anymore. And my muses seems to have abandoned me lately. So, all reviews and comments for my return have not been in vain. I will write when i can. :D **

**This quick oneshot is dedicated to Laura, who rocks my socks w/ emails, and to Jess whose birthday was the other day! HAPPY BELATED BDAY! Hope you enjoyed our chris clone... haha**

That son of a bitch, he thought as he reviewed their case. The son of bitch created a new family, with a wife and a son and lived this double life. After raping innocent women and dies without facing the consequences. Now his partner has a brother, who tells her she looks so much like their father, and it worries him that she hasn't answered her phone.

Not that she is obligated to. He did make the mistake of sleeping with Kathy, with getting her pregnant, for ruining his chance with his partner. Yet, he knew she would never fall for it. She was too strong.

He knows she needs time. She's broken. She's hurt. He wants to be what she needs, but can't seem to find his voice. Instead, he brushes his knuckles to the oak of her door. Soon the brushes evolve into deliberate contact. He can't speak her name. He stands there... five minutes... twenty minutes... two hours... whatever it takes for her to realize he's there.

He broke your heart

He took your soul

You're hurt inside

'Cause there's a hole

You need some time

to be alone

then you will find

what you've always known

I'm the one who really love ya, baby

I've been knockin' at your door

He drove home that night, no conversation with Olivia, no closure. He had dialed her number four times... heard the ringtone blast... heard the execution of pressing the red button. He accepted she needed time. It was her way of coping with recent events. However, he did notice his radio was playing a new tune... a song that spoke to him.

Normally he would switch off his daughters' crap stations of music, but this song seemed mellow and without the standard elements of Britney Spears' technoed out wannabes. This song described his relationship with Olivia to a T. He wanted to be this for her... he was waiting.

He reached his apartment and found the song immediately on ITunes. He downloaded and burned the disc within minutes and managed to grab his keys. Driving like a demon, he managed to return to her apartment, a bag of chinese in hand as well as the disc, within an hour. He jumped up the stairs and quickly made her way to her apartment door. He knocked quickly and made his way toward the stairs. He knew she would still want to be alone. However, the CD and food were both labelled with his name.

As long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there

3:32... _Ring... Ring..._ "Liv?" he answered.

"Im sorry to be calling," she whispered, tears heard along the line.

"Want me to come over?"

"I just needed to hear you. God, why am I such a joke? I did everything right. I don't cheat, smoke or disrespect God. I may not be devout, but I don't disrespect. El, why did this have to enter my life. Im fucked up as it is."

"You are not fucked up."

"Really now? I had a mother who hated me growing up, a father who raped my mother to create me and left to return to his double life of being a respectable man! Respectable Elliot! How am I supposed to cope with that? I have lived fearing what is inside me. I have lived knowing that there was a darkness in me, and yet I am standing here... alone, El. What am I going to do?"

"Liv, You are amazing. As for what life God dealt you, I am in no place to comment, judge or ridicule. However I do know that if you weren't created the way you were or born or lived the way you did, you wouldn't be here with me now. You wouldn' be my best friend, my partner, my confidant. How different would my life be without you in it? I don't want to find out."

A sniffle was what he heard next. Then the swallowing of tears. "Thank you El. I better let you get back to sleep. Does Kath know you are on the phone with me?"

"Does it matter?" he asked in a tone which was more hurt than cautious.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Olivia said quickly. "I should go."

"Liv--"

"What El?"

"Did you listen to the song?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Yes," he whispered. "Yes, I do."

"Okay, I will," she said softly. "By the way, the egg flower soup kicked ass."

He laughed and whispered softly, "Sleep now, Liv. Sleep now."

I've seen ya cry

into the night

I feel your pain

can I make it right?

I realize

there's no end in sight

yet still I wait

for you to see the light

I'm the one who really loves ya, baby

I can't take it anymore

"I heard you may be helping Porter with another case."

It had been four months since the late night phone call. Their situation was tense at first, but was healed by their ability to return to their intimate rhythm. They knew their hearts, their minds, their actions. This seemed to impress the brass and turned to closing their investigation of their partnership.

He smirked as her head spun but quickly changed his emotions to concern as she spilled hot coffee on her wrist. "Damn it," she cursed as she went to the sink. "The one day I don't drink tea."

Elliot laughed and moved her wrist to his damp cloth. "Here," he said, wiping her wrist.

She looked up and stared into his eyes as if she was analyzing his soul. He knew she must know how he felt. How much he wanted her. Yet it seemed that she couldn't... wouldn't... read into what could be.

"How is the baby?" she asked, moving away from his intense gaze.

He nodded, remembering needing to hold her once his knew his son was safe. She had saved them, the mother of his children and his youngest. He saw the blood upon her shirt and feared for her briefly that day, noting his son took precedence. Yet once he knew of his survival and health, he took her in his arms desperately, needing to know she was there, she was okay, she was alive. He heard her sigh of relief and how she too had clung to him. He remembered his reluctance to release her and the heartbreak in her eyes. _If only_ he would often tell himself. _If only..._

"The baby? Is El okay?"

"Um. Yeah, Liv, the baby is fine," he said, not wanting to delve into the subject.

"Are you sure you are okay? You have been so out of it lately," she said studying him.

"Newborns take all hours from ya, Liv."

She laughed and grasped his shoulder. "Toughen up, Stabler. He needs ya."

"Yeah, yeah..." He watched and took in the familiar heartbreak in her eyes. "Are you going to tell me what's hurting you?"

"Im sorry..."

"Just tell me why you are hurting."

"Im okay."

"Liv."

"Just drop it El," she said closing the subject.

"Well, whenever you need me, I'll be waiting," he said brushing past her to the cribs. He didn't notice her stiffen, watch him walk up the stairs or wipe the tear that fell from her eye.

As long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there

You are the only one I've ever known

that makes me feel this way, couldn't on my own

I wanna be with you until we're old

You've got the love you need right in front of you, please come home

She took another assignment with the feds because he had asked her to. It isn't his place, but he couldn't stand the bastard. Porter with his greedy eyes studying her, wanting her, needing her like he himself did. He was sick of hearing about him, of knowing he could take her away. Yet he had no claim to Olivia Benson... other than loving her.

This time, however, she gave him a number to contact him. So he dialed her number tonight, needing to hear her voice, to make him from losing his edge.

_This is Olivia Benson. I am unavailable at this given moment, but please leave a message and I'll call you back. _

"Hey Liv. Its late, I know. I just wanted to make sure Porter was keeping you safe. If he hurts you, you know he's dead, right... Yeah, well. I should hang up. I miss you, Liv. EJ is crawling around a bit. He found your picture in my wallet. Remember when you asked me that one night why you were so fucked up? You aren't Liv. You are perfect and I just... uh what am I trying to say. Liv, I just want you to come home. If you call, I'll be waiting and when you need me, I'll be there. Just remember that, kay? I miss you. Night."

As long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there

Cases came and went and rain fell upon Manhattan. Elliot was walking to his sedan when he heard a familiar voice call him from behind. He turned and felt smooth lips pressed against his, the rain sparking the friction and electricity between the two bodies. He pulled her closer, moaning as her tongue massaged his.

The thunder separated them and he looked into her eyes. Her warm brown eyes. "You don't need to wait for me anymore, El. Im here."

As long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there


End file.
